The Keep [Rockingham - 12 August 2012]

The garden that you are now looking at stands on the side of the Medieval Motte and Bailey Castle which stood here until the end of the English Civil War in 1660.

The central round yew hedge encloses the ornate Rose Garden which forms the central feature of this area of the Castle garden. The surrounding area has been a lawn surrounded by herbaceous borders since Victorian times. The herbaceous boarders were substantially larger, however, with the decline in the number of gardens following World War I, the borders were reduced in size and complexity.

In 2004 it was decided to clear the borders in order to eradicate the perennial weeds that had taken hold.

The concept was to create "rooms" and vistas utilizing yew hedges and Yew pillars which will draw the visitor around the garden.

The plan has been prepared by Chelsea "Gold Medal" garden designer Robert Myers. Myers's design for the new garden retains the 19th-Century Rose Garden at its core, enclosed by the castellated hedge that marks the inner fortifications of the "keep" that once stood on the site. The design breathes new life into the garden by connecting this cental area with the rest of the space. The series of radial yew hedges provide opportunities for vistas, walkways and seating within a series of garden "rooms" that will contain deep borders of stunning herbaceous and shrub planting, each room being given a different character. These garden rooms reflect the layout of the outer parts of the keep. To the south of the garden, new iron estate fencing has replaced a timber fence, and the re-alignment of this fence and removal of overgrown planting mean that the "keep" can once again be appreciated atop its grassy mound.

The planting plan has been created and designed by Lincolnshire plantsman, Tim Rasell. The plan incorporates the planting of the shrubs and climbing plants which will provide the depth and background to the borders.